Digimon Tamers: Back to School
by Lady Iapetus Roving Wanderer
Summary: A school day in the life of the Tamers, set after episode 51. May be a series continuation if the muses ever cooperate.


_**Disclaimer:** Digimon Tamers belongs to Toei Entertainment and Sensations Animation. I am making no money off of this, nor do I plan to make any money off of it. The character of Sakurada Haruna (Miss Patricia Haruna for all who are more familiar with her English name) is from the Sailor Moon anime series and is property of Naoko Takeuchi. Don't ask why I brought her in.   
**Author's Note:** The usual "season continuation of Tamers" that every Digi-fic author seems to be doing nowadays. Since my muses have been clamoring for this since well before the Tamers finale, I finally gave in to shut them up. Lord knows if I'll continue or not. Some things you'll need to know: As Ai and Mako have no last name given in the canonical series, I have given them the last name "Akisame." It means "autumn rain." This takes place in my fan-canon universe where Shiuchon was 7 during Tamers, Ai and Mako are the same age as Shiuchon, Alice is Rob "Dolphin" McCoy's granddaughter and is alive, and Lopmon is female. If any of this bugs you, just use that handy-dandy back button to leave. I won't be offended._

**Digimon Tamers: Back to School   
By: Lady Iapetus**

Lee Shiuchon hummed to herself as she brushed her hair, then stepped back and regarded her reflection in the full-length mirror mounted on the back of her bedroom door. She was dressed in a pink sleeveless shirt and a pair of maroon denim shorts. At her waist were two of her most prized possessions: her pink D-Arc, clipped to her belt loop as always, and a belt similar to one owned by Makino Ruki that held her Digimon cards. It had been a birthday present from the Digimon Queen herself. Her hair was pulled into the pigtailed hairstyle she had worn as a littler girl, but they now fell to just below her ears. On her left wrist was her sports watch with the pink band. 

_Perfect,_ she thought. 

"Shiuchon-chan, are you ready yet?" a somewhat perturbed voice called from the living room of the Lee apartment. 

"Well, almost perfect," Shiuchon corrected herself aloud. Shouldering her backpack she said, "C'mon, Lopmon. Let's get going. We don't want to be late for school." 

In response the dark gray and pink rabbit digimon that had been lying on Shiuchon's bed sat up and scrambled up onto Shiuchon's free shoulder, one ear draped over her head. "Let's go, Shiuchon-chan!" she proclaimed. The magenta-haired girl giggled as they exited the bedroom. 

"I'm ready, Jen-niichan," Shiuchon told her older brother as she and Lopmon made their entrance. Shiuchon's older brother Jenrya was standing near the door, dressed in his middle school uniform and tapping his foot impatiently. Sitting on his shoulder in an almost-mirror image of Lopmon's place on Shiuchon was his own Digimon partner Terriermon. Jenrya grunted in reply to his sister's announcement, picked up his briefcase and headed out the door with his sister following him. 

"Moumantai, Jen," Terriermon appeased. 

"Ah, moumantai yourself," Jenrya responded as they began the walk from their apartment to the West Shinjuku schools. There was one brief stop at the park where they joined up with Matsuda Takato, and Terriermon ran off to join Guilmon in the park. Takato gave Lopmon a Look as the trio continued on and she remained on Shiuchon's shoulders. 

"Aren't you going to join them, Lopmon?" he asked the former Deva. 

Lopmon shook her head, almost slapping her partner in the face with her large ears. "I want to be with Shiuchon, just in case something happens and she needs me." 

"It's been three years since we defeated D-Reaper," Jenrya responded. "Somehow, I doubt anything's going to happen." 

"I don't blame her," Takato said in Lopmon's defense. "Heck, I'd like to take Guilmon to school with me, but I don't want to freak out Sakurada-sensei on the first day. Heck, I don't think I want to freak her out period." The two boys and the rest of their class had already heard enough horror stories about Sakurada Haruna from her former pupils in the Juuban school system for them to know they shouldn't try anything Digimon-related with her. 

Jenrya shrugged. "Just make sure that Isaji-sensei knows that she's there, all right Shiuchon-chan? Juri didn't tell her when she brought Culumon to class one day, and she flipped out when he popped out of nowhere." 

Takato laughed. "She didn't tell her because Juri didn't know she'd brought him to school," he explained. "He stowed away in her backpack." The three children had a good laugh over the image of Ms. Isaji panicking as Culumon popped out of Juri's backpack. The conversation then drifted to other things, and soon Shiuchon and Lopmon separated from the boys as they entered the Shinjuku Elementary schoolyard, and they continued onto the junior high. 

"Shiuchon! Shiuchon-chan, over here!" Shiuchon heard a voice calling. She looked over and saw the Akisame twins standing by the stone playhouse where Takato, Hirokazu and Kenta had played many a game of the Digimon card game. Grinning, she ran over to join them. 

"Hi guys!" she greeted them. "How's it going?" 

Makoto, the younger of the twins, shrugged. "Not too bad," he replied. Although once he'd been the shorter of the twins, Mako now stood as tall as his sister and Shiuchon. His reddish-brown hair was styled somewhat similar to Takato's, but he didn't have a pair of goggles. Mako wore a pair of denim overalls with a white short-sleeved shirt underneath. 

His sister Ai nodded in agreement. Like Shiuchon, Ai kept her hair in its pigtail style, but her pigtails hung down at the base of her head instead of sticking up at the top like Shiuchon's, and she kept her hair cut short enough that the ends barely brushed her shoulders. She was dressed in a light blue denim jumper with a knee-length skirt and a light pink tee-shirt underneath. 

"Where's your D-Ark?" Shiuchon asked when she didn't see either twin carrying it. She remembered back when they were younger that Ai always wore it on a string around her neck. 

"In my backpack," answered Mako. "And Impmon's...around." The twins' shared Digimon partner had walked to school with them at the request of their parents, even though he knew that the kids were probably old enough to make the trek themselves. Once they'd reached the schoolyard he'd promptly vanished, promising to be around should they need him. While before they might have worried when Impmon pulled a disappearing act, now the twins barely minded it. There were times when Impmon needed his space, and they knew he'd always be back. 

Shiuchon and Lopmon shared a Look at this. One thing Shiuchon had been counting on was that the twins would bring Impmon to class with them. It was her way of justifying bringing Lopmon to school. But if Impmon was just wandering around instead of hanging with the twins... 

"Lopmon, do you want to go back home, or to the park with Terriermon and Guilmon?" her Tamer asked. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to." 

But Lopmon was firm in her decision. "My place is with my Tamer." Almost before she finished speaking the bell rang, and the trio joined the rush of children heading into the building. 

It wasn't very hard for Shiuchon to find her homeroom. She introduced herself and Lopmon to Ms. Isaji and asked for permission for her Digimon to stay. Lopmon even promised to be on her best behavior. To the relief of both Digimon and Tamer the teacher agreed, as long as Lopmon didn't disrupt the class. 

Much to Ms. Isaji's surprise Lopmon didn't disrupt the class, unlike the Digimon of some other students that had made it into her classroom at one point or another during that school year. She could tell that the other children were all but bubbling over with questions about Lopmon, but were managing to keep quiet until lunchtime. Lopmon herself was quiet, and even talked Shiuchon through a sheet of math problems the students had been given to keep the girl from getting frustrated. It made her wonder why all Digimon couldn't be as gentle-mannered and calm as Lopmon. 

* * *

About a block away a majority of the older Tamers were also slaving away at desks. Fortunately Ms. Sakurada wasn't as bad as the stories had made her out to be. Sure she ran a tight ship, but for the most part got along with her students pretty well. Some of the doomsayers of the class claimed that it was because she was glad to be away from Juuban, and she'd sink right back into her old ways as soon as she got used to Shinjuku. 

Takato had been disappointed to find that none of his friends were in his morning classes. Of course he didn't expect to see Ruki or Ryo, since the latter lived and attended school in Hokkaido and the former went to a private school across town. But it was odd not to see Kenta, Hirokazu, Jenrya or Juri sitting in the same classroom. 

The artist of the Tamers was just setting his stack of books down on his desktop when a cheerful voice nearby greeted him, "Good morning, Takato-kun!" 

Takato whipped around in his seat. "Juri!" She was standing next to him, dressed in the girls' uniform of the middle school. Her hair hung down past her shoulders, and her ponytail had moved from the left side of her head to the back of her head and was tied with a blue ribbon to match the skirt and sailor flap of her uniform. "Uh, what are you doing here?" 

"This is my class, silly," Juri giggled. 

"Right." _Way to go, Takato. Open mouth, insert foot._ "So, um, how are you doing? How was your trip?" The Katous had gone on a small vacation and hadn't gotten back until the day before school started. 

The brown-haired girl sat down in the seat beside him. "It was fun. We spent a lot of time at the beach. Masahiko played around with Culumon a lot, pretending he was his Tamer." 

"Yeah, I bet both of them enjoyed that," Takato agreed. "How about you, though? You doing all right?" 

If Juri thought Takato was being overprotective, she didn't blame him. The other Tamers were always a little sensitive around her, even Shiuchon and the twins to some extent, especially where their partners were concerned. Juri thought it was sweet the way they worried about her. It served as a reminder to her that even though Leomon had died she would still remain a member of the team. 

"I'm fine. I had a lot of fun," Juri said. Grinning a little more wickedly she added, "I played the card game against some of the local kids. Kicked their butts, too." Takato couldn't help laughing at this. 

"That's great. Ruki'll be thrilled," he said. Ruki had made good on her promise to teach Juri how to play the Digimon card game, although she had waited until Juri was well on the way to recovering from Leomon's death and her ordeal with Mother D-Reaper. At first the lessons had been for just Juri alone, but then Shiuchon started to sit in on them. It wasn't long before Ai came along and Ruki suddenly had three pupils to deal with instead of just one. Juri proved to be a fast learner, and now she was almost as good as the Digimon Queen herself. 

"Hey, have you seen Hirokazu or Kenta anywhere around?" Takato asked as more students started to file into the classroom. 

Juri shook her head. "Not yet. Maybe we'll see them at lunch." The teacher came in and the class turned to face the front of the room. Takato cast one anxious glance at Juri's backpack, which was slung over the back of her chair. Juri follwed his gaze and quietly laughed. "Don't worry," she told him. "I made sure he stayed at home with Mom and Dad." Sighing with relief, Takato turned his attention to their teacher. 

* * *

Shiuchon almost didn't get to eat her lunch that day. Everyone from her homeroom class had followed her outside at lunch period, bombarding her with questions about Digimon: what they were, where they came from, why Shiuchon had a D-Ark and how they could get a Digimon of their very own. Shiuchon fielded these questions and dozens more like them as best she could. Fortunately Ai and Mako helped by answering some of the questions, although it took Mako pulling out their D-Ark and showing it for the crowd to be convinced that they were Tamers. 

Shiuchon had asked if there were any more questions for what felt like the n-th time when a classmate of theirs raised her hand. "What's that thing over there?" she asked, pointing over Shiuchon's shoulder. Everyone turned to look at what she was indicating. 

It was a white blob of...something, hovering in the air on the playground. Those children that had been in its general vicinity were backing away, since it looked like it was getting bigger. Shiuchon's jaw hit her knees. She knew what that thing was, even though she'd never seen one for herself; she'd just heard stories from her older brother, and from Ruki and Takato. After the defeat of the Devas, supposedly it wasn't supposed to be possible for one of those to form. But obviously it was possible, and it _was_ forming. 

It was a digital field. 

* * *

Halfway across town in the Hypnos building, Yamaki Mitsuo and his team of specialists were tracking activity in the digital world. Fortunately this job was easier than it had been three years ago, as there hadn't been any Digimon activity in the real world for that long, save for the partners of the Tamers. 

"Sir," one of the workers, Megumi, caught his attention. 

"What is it, Megumi?" he asked. She was his top technician and analyst, although not his best and most trusted. Said best and most trusted analyst was currently at home, taking care of their newborn daughter. 

"I'm picking up some...readings," the blonde-haired technician replied. At Yamaki's prompting she continued, "There's a...digital field emerging. With a Digimon in it." 

Yamaki felt like cursing. Just when he'd been musing on how peaceful his life had been Murphy's Law had to put in an appearance. "Where at?" he asked, finding some comfort in the fact that he knew the Tamers would take care of it. 

"Shinjuku Elementary, just outside the building," Megumi replied. This time, Yamaki did curse. There would only be three Tamers in that area with only two Digimon between them. And there would be no way that the older kids could get out of class to help. 

Not unless he helped, of course. 

"Sayuri," he said to another one of the techs. "Get me Shinjuku Junior High on the phone." 

* * *

"What is that thing?" Ai asked from her perch on top of the picnic table. She, her brother, Shiuchon and Lopmon had taken cover on the thing when the other kids had started running from the digital field. 

"It's a digital field," Shiuchon explain. "Jen-niichan told me it's like...a pocket of the Digiworld comes into our world, but we don't know why or how." 

Mako pointed to something inside the field. "Um, I think she means that," he clarified. 

As the Digimon stepped into their line of vision, Shiuchon took out her D-Ark and watched as the analyzer activated. "Shamamon. Child Level. Data. Ogre-type Digimon." 

Lopmon sighed; as small as she was, she knew her ice attacks alone weren't going to be very affective against an Ogre-type Digimon. "Great. We're going to be fighting each other to a draw then. I hope Impmon shows up to help; I have a feeling we're going to need that Summon Flame of his." 

"You could always evolve and take him out," pointed out Mako. 

"A Deva against a Child? No way; wouldn't be fair," Lopmon replied. Looking over at Shiuchon she asked, "Well? You ready?" 

"As I'll ever be," Shiuchon replied. Girl and Digimon leapt off the picnic table and ran into the digital field. Lopmon wasted no time, leaping into the air and throwing her first attack right in the Wild One's face. 

"Blazing Ice!" Shamamon growled, wiping at his face. 

"Shaman Hammer!" He threw his club at Lopmon and it caught her a glancing blow to the head. Lopmon fell to the ground, stunned. 

* * *

At the park, far from anyone else there, a small group of Digimon was having fun. Terriermon, Culumon, Marine Angemon and Guilmon were playing in the small stream there while Guardromon watched their play from the bank, a safe distance away from the water. Also observing them was Impmon, who was reclining up in a tree. Renamon was nowhere to be seen; probably hanging around her partner's school. 

"Hey Impmon, why don't you join us?" called out Terriermon. 

"Nah. No t'anks, Kid," Impmon replied. He wasn't doing it to be anti-social. Though he didn't want to admit it to the others, Impmon had a strong dislike of water that stemmed from the times that Ai, when she was younger and before he had gone off and left his Tamers, would treat him like a doll and give him countless baths. Bathtubs still made him nervous. But the other Digimon didn't need to know that. 

Then, in the middle of their playing, Guilmon suddenly stopped. His body tensed and his eyes took on a wild, unfocused look. The others stopped playing as well. "Guilmon? Are you okay?" asked Culumon. 

"Uh-oh. I've seen that look before," Terriermon said. "There's a digital field open somewhere, isn't there?" 

"Uh-huh," Guilmon answered, growling. 

Marine Angemon, being an Ultimate-level Digimon, was also able to sense the field opening and, more importantly, pinpoint its location. "It's at the elementary school, pipi," he reported. 

Impmon stood up and hopped off his tree branch. "I'll go. I got two Tamers dere already." 

"Lopmon's already there," Terriermon pointed out before the goblin-like Digimon could take off. 

He merely shrugged in reply. "So we can double-team 'im. No biggie. See y'all later!" Impmon called, running off. 

* * *

"Lopmon!" Shiuchon called to her partner, nearly frantic. "Lopmon, get up!" Lopmon's eyes opened and she tried to pull herself up while ignoring the throbbing pain in her skull. Meanwhile Shamamon was advancing, and she wasn't sure she'd regain her bearings in time to attack him again. 

"SUMMON FLAME!" 

Shamamon's face suddenly took on an expression of pain, eyes bugging out of his head. He leapt into the air, hands going to the seat of his pants which were on fire. Standing behind him , blowing smoke off of one pointed finger, was Impmon. 

"You okay?" he called over to Lopmon. 

The rabbit Digimon stood up and shook her head a little. "Just fine!" she called back. Impmon jogged over and the two of them watched the Shamamon deal with his little problem. 

"So what're we dealin' wit', here?" Impmon asked. 

"Shamamon, a Child level," replied Lopmon. "I don't think we need to evolve to take care of him." 

"Good; cuts down on da property damage," Impmon agreed. The pair then set about attacking Shamamon from both sides; the ogre Digimon would turn away from a Summon Flame only to be hit with a Blazing Ice or Petite Twister. Finally a simultaneous attack broke Shamamon into data. 

Impmon turned away, reluctant to watch as Lopmon absorbed the Shamamon's data. It brought back too many bad memories of his time as Beezlebumon, particularly Leomon and what he had done to him. There were times when Impmon wondered just how much of Leomon remained with him after all these years. He was extremely protective of his Tamers, naturally, but he also felt rather protective toward Katou Juri. He wasn't quite sure if that was his own doing, feeling that he ought to make up for stealing Leomon from her, or if it was Leomon's data that made him feel that way. 

The digital field dissipated into nothingness, leaving just Shiuchon, the twins and the Digimon standing there. Approximately a second later Hirokazu jogged into the courtyard, Guardromon behind him. He looked around, and sagged when he saw there was no digital field. "Aw, man! We were too late!" 

"I told him that you had everything under control," Guardromon said. 

Hirokazu glared at his partner. "Oh, keep quiet." 

"Hiro-san," Shiuchon said "how'd you get here? I thought you and the others were in school." 

"Yamaki phoned the school, trying to get one of us out to help you guys," Hirokazu replied. "I was the only one he was able to spring, I guess." 

Mako glanced up at the clock. "Oh, crap!" he exclaimed. "We are super-late! We'd better get inside before we get a longer detention than we've already got!" The three Tamers, plus Lopmon, hurried into the school building. Ai and Shiuchon called their thanks to Hirokazu over their shoulders. Impmon, Guardromon and Hirokazu watched them leave. 

"I suppose you had better get back to school as well," Guardromon said to his Tamer. 

"Yeah," the brown-haired boy agreed, kicking at the ground as he turned back in the direction of the junior high. "Man, it's not fair! I never get to see any action!" 

Impmon watched them leave, then shrugged to himself. "I might as well stay here," he said to himself. "School'll be out in a couple-a hours anyways." He walked over to the nearest tree, climbed it and made himself comfortable. _I just hope no kid looks out da window er somethin',_ he thought to himself. 

* * *

By the time dinnertime rolled around at the Lee apartment, every family member had heard about the digital field at Shiuchon's school and how Lopmon and Impmon had taken out the Shamamon. Everyone congratulated the pair, even though Mrs. Lee _did_ lecture her daughter about the detention she got as a result of being late for class. 

Later, when the rest of the family was involved in their own things, Jenrya approached his father. "Dad," he said. "is it really possible that the digital fields could be appearing again?" 

"It was always possible, Jenrya," Janyuu told his son. "The digital fields that let the wild Digimon into our world were unrelated to the Devas, and to the D-Reaper." 

Jenrya nodded. "Okay, I'll buy that. But why are they suddenly appearing _now_? It's been three years, Dad. Why didn't they start popping up two years after we defeated D-Reaper? Or one year? Or even six months...no wait, forget I said that." 

Janyuu sighed. "That I don't know, Jenrya. That I just don't know." 

**

The End

**


End file.
